hamilton



t e e h S m.. e e h S 2 ,N 0 T L T... M A H W d. d o M o m METAL EXTRAGTING. APPARATUS.

No. 306,825. Patented Oct. 21, 1884.

ATTE5T| INVENTQB:

Nv PETERS. Plmw-Luhugmpher. wnshmgmn. D. c.

(No Model.) I y 2 sheets-sheet 2.

. W. HAMILTON. Y

METAL EXTRAGTING APPARATUS.

Patented' Oct. 21, 1884.

NVE'N T O R N. PEYENS, Pnnnmmugrapher. wnshmggon. n.0.

1UivrTnn STnTns TATTNT Ormea.

NVALTER IfIAllIILTON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE HAMILTON LEAD BATH COMPANY, OE SAME PLAGE.

Wl ETAL-EXTRAC-TING APPARATUS.

PECIFICATIION forming part of Letters Patent No. 306,825, dated October 21, 1884.

Application tiled January 19, 18S-l. (No model.) l

Be it known that I, WALTER HAMILTON, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful 5 Improvement in Metal-Extracting Apparatus,

of which the following is a specication.

My invention relatesmore especially to apparatus for the extraction of the precious metals by the process of alloying' with lead; 1o but itis also applicable, wholly or partially, to the extraction of the precious metals by amalgamation, and generally to the extraction of materials by immersion in liquid having a greater specitic gravity than the material acted upon.l

The invention consists, principaily,in means for conveying the material to the bottom of the liquid body, and there releasing it and permitting it to rise through the liquid and be acted upon in its ascent by the distributing and scattering devices, such means being oi' simple and e'l'ticient construction and acting positively upon the material; in means for l'eeding the liquid to the kettle and regulating its height therein, which will prevent all scoria and impurities from entering the kettle, and will permit of their ready separation from the liquid, and in means for supplying charcoaldust at the proper point for incorporation with the ore, all as fully hereinafter explained.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, Figure l is a vertical section of apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a sectional perspective View of the main ketseparate perspective view of a portion ot' the endless chain ot scraper-s and the scrapingsurface 5 Fig. el, a sectional elevation showing means i'or tightening the endless chain; Fig. 5, a top view of the same parts, and Fig. 6 a cross-section of one of the scrapers.

Like letters denote corresponding parts in all the figures. y

A is the main vessel or kettle of the apparatus, which maybe oi' any suitable form. It is located in a heating-chamber divided into two parts7 'I3 and B', bythe kettle, openings reconnecting the two parts of the chamber together at a number of points around the kettle. The heat is supplied by a flue, b, from a furnace or fire-box, (not shown,) and suitable tle and the devices carried thereby; Fig. 3, a-

dainpers are provided, as shown, to cause the products ot' combustion to pass directly up the stack C or through the chamber B B. The kettle A has a receiving-chamber, c, at one end, into which the finely-divided ore is delivered by a spout, d, from a feeding-heater,

D. The supply of ore to the kettle is regulated by a suitable valve. The feeding-heater D projects down into the upperportion, B, of 6o the heating-chamber, and hence is heated by the same iire that serves to keep up the temperature of the molten lead. The peculiar feeding-heater shown, however, not being of myinvention, I make no claim to it. Into the spout cl enters an auxiliary spout, e, from a hopper, E, for delivering charcoal-dust to` be incorporated with the finely-divided ore alter the ore has passed through the heater andjust prior to immersion in the molten lead. 7o The flow of charcoal-dust is regulated by`a suitable valve. The function ofthe charcoal is to prevent oxidation of the lead, which it does eifectually. This improvement in the process is fully described and claimed in another application for patent made by me, the present application relating wholly to apparatus. r

The means for conveying the material to the bottom of the liquid-body consists of scrap- 8o ers F, which are buoyant in the liquid of the kettle, and work against an inclined scraping-surface, G, secured to the walls ot' the kettle. The Scrapers are mounted upon endless chains II, running over wheels fg, fixed S5 to the shafts, located one near the top of the' kettlel just below the receiving-chamber c, and the other near the bottom of the kettle. The endless chain of scrapers is operated by any suitable connection with the power, shafts 9o and gearing being shown for applying the power to the shaft of the upper chain-wheels. rIhe Scrapers are made buoyant by making them of a material having a less specitic gravity than the liquid, or by making them hollow, or providing them with a iilling of lighter material than the liquid.

For the lead-bath process, I prefer to construct each scraper with a shell, 7L, Fig. 6, of some suitable metal-such as steel-and to fill roo the shell with material, t', lighter than molten lead, for which purpose a irebrick is preferably used. The inclined scrapingsuri'ace G extends down to a point about opposite the chainwheel shaft at the lower end ot' the endless chain of scrapers, the material being forced beyond the lower end ol the surface by the moving scrapers, and being freely discharged at that point, i'ro'm whence it rises upwardly through the liquid body. its the scrapers have open spaces between them, the material is buoyed up by the liquid of the kettle, and after it passes the lower end ot theinclincd scraping-su riaee is i m medial ely borne upward.

The height ol the liquid in the kettle is indicated by the dotted lines `in Figs. 'l and The scrapers rise through the surface ol' the liquid in chamber c, and take the material i'roln the surface ot' the liquid to the inclined serapi1ig-snri'ace, down which it is l'oreed. The buoyancy ol' the scrapers keeps them in goed contact with the scraping-surface, preventing the escape backward el' the material.

To provide i'or the. tightenting oi" the endless chains, the lower chain-wheel shaft is mounted in sliding` bearings connected by rods Lwhich are adjustably held by nuts 7x to the top oi'ihe kettle.

It is evident that the scraping-surface could be extended cireumtcrcntially until it becomes a complete cylinder or pipe, through which the scrapers in their downward movement will pass, and the scrapers may still be of the semicircular l'orm shown, or they may be piston scrapcrs.

Devices i'or distributing and separating the material as it rises through the body oi" liquid and l'or discharging` the refuse are shown, but they are not claimed herein or particularly described, since they are not ot' my invention. Such devices are the revolving cone K,actiug in conjunction with the stationary annular plates L, and the revolving dischargepro' `iary kettle and is melted therein, all scoria and impurities rising to the top of the auxiliary kettle and being removed therefrom. In this way only the pure metal enters the main kettle. The height oi' the molten lead in the main kettle can also be properly regulated by observing the height ol' the lead in the auxiliary kettle, by haring access thereto, or by a iioat connected with an indicator external to the furnace.

rlhe draining-pipe is used to draw ot't' the molten lead from both kettles at the comple tion of the extracting process.

In my Patent No. 260.38?) is shown and described a tube connected with the bottom ot' the amalga'unatiiig-kettle and inclosed by the stack ot' the furnace and containing an elevator or conveyor, so that the lead flows from the kettle into the tube, and is carried up by the elevator and heated during` its passage, and is then emptied into avesscl, from which it is rcturncd to the kettle. This, it is evident, is a veryditi'lfrent device from the auxiliary feeding-kettle which I now claim, in which the llead is put to be melted, and from which such lead is i'ed into the amalgamating-kcttle.

What I claim is Ll. l'n extracting apparatus oi' the character described, the combination, with the kettle, oi the inclined scraping-snriace, and one or more moving scrapers for immersing the material,

,isuch scrapers having open spaces between l them, substantially as set forth.

2. l'n extracting apparatus ofthe character described, the combination, with the kettle, oli' an inclined scraping-suriace, and one or more buoyant scrapcrs i'or im niersing` the material, substantially as set forth.

In extracting apparatus ofthe character described, the combination, with the kettle, ot'

the inclined scraping-surface and the inclined endless chain of scrapcrs buoyant in the liquid in the kettle for innncrsing thc material, substantially as set forth.

4. In extracting apparatus oi' the character described, a buoyant scraper `i'or the 'purpose set l'orth, composed ot' a metallic shell and a iilling having lessspecitic gravity than the liqnid-extracting body, substantially as set i'orth.

Inextracting apparatus ot' the character described, the auxiliary `feeding-kettle, substantially as set forth.

n. In extracting appa atus ol' the character described, the combination, with the spout for 'feeding the ore to the kettle, ot' the auxiliary spout i'or feeding a reducing agent, substantially as set forth.

rlhis specification signed and witnessed this 15th day of January, 1884i.

XVAl/lflillt l IAMIL'FON.

Nlf'ifncsses:

BERNARD J. KELLY, EDWARD H. lvafr'r.

IIO 

